Pieta is Ireland’s leading suicide-prevention charity and ‘Darkness into Light’ is an annual fundraising walk which Electric Ireland has supported since 2013. The sponsorship fits with our brand purpose in helping to support and enable the communities in which we operate to create a brighter future.
In May 2021 , for the second year in a row, the ‘Darkness into Light’ walk had to be cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions on the number of people that could gather. This threatened the single most successful fundraising activity for Pieta at a time when demand for mental health services was in huge demand across the country.
Electric Ireland and RTE collaborated to deliver a ground-breaking partnership to support Pieta’s Darkness Into Light: ‘One Sunrise Together’ appeal by creating a programme of innovative, educational and highly emotive content delivered across TV, radio, online broadcast and social media.
We pivoted the campaign to encourage people to share a moment at sunrise, with family or alone. We chose Sunrise as a symbol of hope and a new beginning and to give a sense of connectivity under one sunrise that is shared by thousands across the country.
The partnership was hugely successful; we raised €7.5 million in response to the Darkness into Light ‘Sunrise Appeal’. We also increased Electric Ireland’s brand association and delivered improved brand trust for Electric Ireland – up 10% on the previous year for 2021.
